


Listen

by Deannie



Series: Tank [1]
Category: The Real Ghostbusters
Genre: Gen, Sensory Deprivation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-07
Updated: 2014-07-07
Packaged: 2018-02-07 15:01:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1903434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deannie/pseuds/Deannie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sensory deprivation--whereby the subject (that's Peter Venkman) <br/>becomes totally disoriented to time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Listen

"Good morning, Raymond."

"Morning, Egon!"

That kid is too perky for his own good.

"Winston's gone to Jersey for that car show."

"And where is Peter?"

"Egon... It's only 9:30. Peter's still--"

"Sleeping, yes." Don't sound so smug, Spengler. It's Saturday--and sleep is one of the most important bodily functions, after all. "He will probably continue to do so for much of the day."

" _All_ of it, probably. After all--"

 _It's my day to do the laundry._ Damn. Now I'm going to have to get up--at _nine-thirty_!--and prove my worth.

It's not fair! Not like I didn't get in at 3:00. Of course, Shahan was _so_ worth it. She's the most beautiful babe I've gone out with this month, all Egyptian and dark...

"Pass me that number three allen wrench, will you?"

Egon and Ray, fiddling around in the lab--they're going to spend the whole damn day working on that new gizmo of Ray's. Of course, if it actually _does_ give us an edge over those damn sevens and eights, I guess it'll be worth the headache of listening to them go on and on and _on_ about it...

I am _way_ too old for these early mornings. I think I'll install a crane on the bed...

Okay, start with the worst stuff first--mine. I don't know why ghosts like _me_ so much. Ray's a whole lot more cuddly. Why don't they slime _him_ once in a while?

Do I have _any_ clean clothes? Maybe, in the bottom of my closet--

Okay, should the door be glowing like that?

Ouch.

...

...

"Hey, Egon?"

Ray?

"Have you seen Peter?"

"No. I thought you said he was sleeping?"

I was until you guys woke me up!

"But that was hours ago! His car's still here--"

"Is the laundry?"

Smartass.

Ray's footsteps, heading this way... What the hell is going on? I can't see anything in here!

"Yeah, it's still here... Wonder where he went?"

Have you tried the closet? I gotta get up. Get my feet under me--

But I don't have any! _Ray--_ Shit! I'm talking, right? Why can't I hear it? Can _he_ hear it? RAY!!

"He's probably delaying the inevitable, Raymond." No, Egon. No, I'm right here! I was going to do the laundry--honest! "Perhaps he went out to get lunch." Lunch? What the hell time is it? Why can't I feel anything?

"Well he better bring us back something..."

I just want to bring _me_ back, right now. Ray? Can you hear me? He's walking away! Ray! Ray, don't walk away! Something really weird is happening--to _me_!

"Did you figure out what caused that weird spike earlier, Egon?"

Yeah! I bet that's what it was. A weird spike! Come on, Egon. Use that big old brain of yours...

"It appeared--just for a moment--that a dimension portal had opened..." Dimensional portal. That sounds right. "But it was gone in a few seconds. Perhaps it was simply a glitch in the new programming."

Glitch in the programming, my ass! Egon! It's got me! Get me out of here!

"We should really debug that." Ray! Isn't anyone listening to me!? I'm trying to move, but I really don't think I have anything left to move with. Damn, this is like those sensory deprivation experiments I ran in grad school... I _knew_ there was a reason I never ran them on myself. "If we get misleading readings like that when we're on a bust..."

It wasn't misleading, Ray! Come on, Spengs! Figure it out! Come save little Petey!

"You know, Egon. Maybe we can run that new series against Tolay's data." Great, they're getting back to Ray's gizmo. Damnit, guys! Can't you see I'm in trouble here? I can't feel and I can't see and I can't talk and oh GOD, aren't you going to get me out of here?!

"It would certainly be a satisfactory first trial, Raymond."

Egon? Come on. Please!

...

...

Hey, Melissa? I don't think Barry looks quite right...

"He's fine, Peter! Did you see his numbers? The medstaff said his 'lytes are a little off, but he made it a whole _week_ in there!"

I don't know, Melissa, there's just something...

...

...

Sensory deprivation--whereby the subject (that's Peter Venkman) becomes totally disoriented to time. I haven't even heard a wrench drop in what seems like a month...

Hell, it may _be_ a month...

Barry said _he_ thought it felt like a month...

Guys?

Um... Guys? Are you still there? Can't you hear me? _Somebody_ has to!

"Peeeter!"

Slimer! Oh, spud, I never thought I'd be glad to hear your voice.

"Peeeter!"

I'm right here, Slimer! Go on, pull a Lassie and tell Egon and Ray where Uncle Peter is.

That's right, buddy, go to the lab...

"Ray?" Go on, spud! "Ray, where Peeter?"

Shit! I'm right here!

"I don't know, spud. Didn't you see him leave?"

"Peeter not leave." Come on, tell him, Slimer. Come on... "Slimer downstairs."

"Egon?"

"He must have slipped out." NO! "Perhaps while you were finishing off our breakfast." Oh, come on! You're going to give him hell about sliming breakfast while I'm stuck--wherever the hell I'm stuck?!

"Sorry, Egon." Sure spud, you're sorry. Sorriest damn bloodghost _I_ ever saw!

"You know, it's nearly two." It is? A.m. or p.m.--and on what day, exactly? "Maybe we should go ahead and have lunch without him." Oh great, Ray. Where's the love, man? If I had a stomach, it'd be growling.

Wait! Wait, don't go downstairs! Don't leave!

Don't leave me here!

Okay, Venkman, okay... No need to panic, here. You're a psychologist, get a grip.

What do you know?

I don't know squat.

Okay, so what do you remember? I got up... I headed for the closet, and then...

The closet. It was glowing, right? And I opened it?

I'm in the closet?

I didn't think I was that kind of guy. I mean, sure, I find the male form as aesthetically pleasing as the next guy but...

Gosh, what will the guys say? Probably nothing--I mean, can't say I didn't use to wonder about Egon, right at first... Pink just should _not_ be a guy's favorite color, you know? And those suspenders? What's with that--

Shit, now I sound hysterical. No. No, I don't sound anything... Why can't I talk? Or, if I'm talking, and I can't hear myself, why can't Ray and Egon? And why can I hear them?

Okay, Pete--time to put that degree to use. Sensory deprivation causes all kinds of funky side-effects, one of which is the inability to concentrate... So concentrate...

It's got to be that dimensional portal thing. It snatched me up, but somehow, the wall's thin enough that I can still hear what's going on on the other side... But why isn't Egon's meter going crazy? Why just that one weird spike?

This whole thing goes beyond weird. I'm in Twilight Zone territory...

Where's the closing credits when you need them?

And where are the guys? It's been awfully quiet for a while now... Did I drift away? I can't even hear the traffic anymore.

Am I even in the bunkroom?

Am I...?

Oh God, I'm dead, aren't I? I'm dead, and I only have me for company--not that I'm not great company, cause I am, but...

Egon?

Ray?

Somebody?

...

...

"Peter?"

Melissa? Melissa, what's wrong?

"They're... they're closing down the project."

Why?

Shit, Melissa, what happened?

"Barry's... Barry--"

Oh, fuck...

...

...

Well, since my baby left me--

I found a new place to dwell--

It's down at the end of lonely street, that's Heartbreak Hotel...

I'm just so lonely, baby...

I'm just so lonely...

I'm just so lonely, I could--

"Where is he?"

Ray!!! Thank God! You left me here forever! What, you think I got better things to do with my time than listen to you? I don't, trust me...

"Raymond, I wouldn't worry." Oh really, I sure would. "I'm sure he's just out procrastinating."

I am not! And I _don't_ procrastinate! I diligently avoid tasks requiring excessive effort.

"I don't know, Egon. He's been gone a long time..." That's it, Ray. Look for me. Start with the closet...

"Peter's a big boy, Ray." Thanks a lot, Spengs. "I'm sure he can take care of himself."

Wish I was.

"Now, if the computer is finished preparing the scenario we ran, perhaps we can review the data and find out whether you are correct in your assessment of the capture ray's potential..."

Can it capture me? At least in containment, I'd have company...

I guess I am dead.

I'm dead, and there isn't even a body. I'm pretty sure Ray would have noticed if my body was lying on the floor--even with that big pile of laundry I left.

I was going to do the laundry, Egon. I promise, if you get me out of here, I'll spend all night doing it.

Just get me out...

...

...

Wonder if they'll let me out of the trial... Melissa's in the lab today... Maybe she'll let me go out for a beer.

Just one...

No research kickback is worth this...

...

...

"Now, I'm worried."

Oh, good, Ray--'cause there was no reason to worry before!

"I agree, Raymond. Peter has been gone much too long."

How long? How long, Egon? Hours? _Days?_

"Winston should be home soon... Do you think he took the cellphone?"

Winston hates the cellphone, Ray. We're lucky we can get him to answer Ecto's mobile when he's at a car show.

"Peter rarely takes it, Ray." Oh, they're talking about me. "You know he doesn't like to be disturbed."

I really, really don't. And this is definitely disturbing!

"It's worth a try..."

_ring_

Shit, I knew I forgot to do something last night. Hey wait! My jumpsuit's in here! Ray! Ray, can you hear me? That's right, open the closet and see that something's wrong... Come on, buddy--

"He left it in his jumpsuit, Egon..." No, not back to the lab! NO! Can't you _see_ me in here!? "Should we go look for him?"

Egon... Egon, if you _ever_ thought we were telepathic before, listen to me. I'm right here! I'm trapped in the closet and I think whatever dimensional portal you picked up this morning put me here. Don't leave. Don't leave, just come in here, run some tests, and find me. Use the meter to monitor my biorhythms--if I even have any right now--but open this goddamned closet and GET ME OUT!

"We could use the PKE meters--" YES! "...Start in a grid pattern and work out from the firehouse--" NO! No, damn it, Egon! Start IN the firehouse!

"I think we better. It's getting dark."

It is? I've been in here all day... I've been stuck in here--

Oh God, don't leave again! DON'T LEAVE AGAIN! Egon! Ray! Please!

"We'll call Winston on the mobile--let him know to keep an eye out on his way home..."

Egon...

"Gosh, I sure hope he hasn't gotten into trouble..."

I _am_ in trouble, Ray. Terrible, terrible trouble...

With a capital T and that rhymes with P and that stands for portal...

 

...

...

...

If I were a rich man, yadda didda didda didda dadda didda didda do...

Where are you guys? I'm running out of showtunes. I'm going start singing Metallica soon, and you _so_ don't want to hear that.

I wouldn't mind hearing _anything_ at this point. _Rigoletto_... something...

...

...

...

926 bottles of beer on the wall, 926 bottles of beer... Take one down, pass it around... 923--Shit.

One thousand bottles of beer on the wall, one thousand bottles of beer...

...

...

...

One bottle of beer on the wall! One, fucking, bottle of beer!

Shit! Never let it be said that Peter Venkman doesn't have all the stick-to-itiveness of a stick-to-iter!

You know, people have veins in their eyelids. Did you know that?

Means I'm not a person--which I've kind of been suspecting for a while--'cause I don't have veins. Or eyelids...

Or eyes.

I'm all ears. Literally.

Too bad there's nothing to hear. There were voices before, and I know their names... I think...

Three... no, two...

And I used to know them...

"Where _is_ he?"

What...?

Okay, there's one of them... Little kid voice... sort of, but not really. Wish I could see what he looked like...

"We'll find him, homeboy, don't worry..."

I... What? See, I knew there were three... That's Winston. Winston, I know...

Ray, I keep forgetting.

You can't find me, Winston. You'd never guess, but I'm in the closet. I was planning on a great coming out party, but everybody left before they brought the cake with the pretty girl inside...

Should that be gorgeous guy? I guess, if I'm coming out, it should...

"We've combed the city for his readings, Winston." Okay. Egon... _Not_ a gorgeous guy... Probably doesn't even look so hot in drag...

I'm... coming... out...

"I... do not know what happened, but I fear..."

I'm coming out. I want the world to know, got to let it show.

"Come on, Egon. We'll find him."

"But we've been looking for _hours_!"

Oh, come on, Ray. Don't cry... I'm right here, you just can't see me. Or hear me. Or touch me...

Hey, maybe I'm not really here after all! Maybe I'm in Tahiti. I'd like to be in Tahiti right now... Beautiful women, fancy drinks, beautiful women... Keep thinking like that, and they'll never let me out of the closet.

"Look, we just gotta..." Gotta what, Winston? Gotta boogie! No, can't boogie--

No body.

"We gotta figure out what happened..." I came out of the closet! No wait... Haven't done that yet... "Something happened _to_ him. Pete wouldn't just take off."

Damn straight, Winston. Oh! Get it?! Closet--straight. Peter Venkman--even dead, he's still funny!

I wouldn't leave you guys. I'd never leave.

I want to come home...

Egon? Please...?

I want to come home.

"But right now, I think you two should try to get some sleep." Winston Zeddemore, Voice of Reason. "Egon, you been out walking the streets for twelve hours. It's nearly six am--you've got to rest a little." It's six am... There's a song there. What's that song? "I haven't been at it as long... I'll go back out and look for him."

"But Winston..."

"I believe Winston... may be right, Ray. We'll try to rest for a few hours. Winston will continue the search."

It's six am, and I ain't got nobody. I got some money cause I just got laid...

Is that right? That song's about hookers? Who knew?

"Find him, Winston..." Wow! Ray sounds sad. Cheer up, Tex. Everything'll be okay. I don't know what's wrong, but it can't be all _that_ bad... "Just... find him and call us as soon as you can."

Yeah. Call 'em. Ray's losing it, Zed. Can't you do something about that?

"You got it, homeboy. I'll be back with Pete before you know it."

Wait? Back with _me_? But I'm right here!

Aren't I?

Hey, wait a minute--am I missing? I _feel_ kind of missing... My body's missing anyway...

"Raymond..." Egon. _He_ sure sounds serious. "We will find him."

Good. I was starting to worry there. Thought I might be dead--wouldn't be the worst thing that ever happened to me, but it would definitely be the last...

"But, Egon, _anything_ could have happened to him!" Nothing happened to me, pal. Nothing. No sight, no scent, no wine, no women...

Okay, I'm _not_ turning Japanese, I know that much!

Ray! Didn't I tell you not to cry? Come on, pal. Lighten up. All you have to do is come over here to...

Where am I again?

Oh--shit, yeah. I'm missing.

Never mind.

"He _will be_ all right, Raymond." You go, Egon. "We'll find him."

They say that a lot, huh? Wonder if they're convincing each other. I sure hope so.

"Please, Ray, try to rest." Good advice, Spengs. Take some of it yourself. "Winston is still out searching." Kind of stupid, since I'm RIGHT HERE! "We'll take it up again ourselves, in the morning."

So you guys'll be busy then? I can sleep in?

"I don't think I can sleep, Egon." Poor Ray. "What if he's..." Dead? Didn't I tell you it was okay? Does _anyone_ listen to me? "What if he's hurt somewhere, all alone?" Oh, _hurt_? Well, yeah, _that'd_ suck. Pain is bottom of my list of fun.

"He won't be alone for long, Ray, I promise you."

I'm not alone at all, guys. Just kind of... Listening.

Hey... Now I know what a fly on the wall feels like! Except that flies can see. Something's wrong with my brain, because I can't even picture the guys. I can tell from their voices what they're feeling, but I can't seem to get a picture in my head of what the expressions look like on their faces.

I don't remember my test subjects talking about _no_ vision. There were a whole lot of visual hallucinations, but... Maybe vision is just... not part of this dimension. Boy, that would suck! Imagine spending the rest of your life blind--and not even knowing it...

Um, guys?

Can I go home now?

"Please, Ray... try to sleep." Yeah. No sleep makes a guy cranky, Tex. Look at me!

"I'll try, Egon, but..." Oh, come on, Ray. I can hear the exhaustion in your voice. I bet you're asleep in five minutes.

...

...

I'm going to miss Seinfeld... Shit. Unless of course I really have been in here for years, in which, maybe I'll catch it in syndication...

Is the world going... really... slow... Or am I just thinkingreallyfast?

Is this what Barry felt like? Shit, man... We didn't know. Honest to God, we didn't... If we had...

I would have let you out.

...

...

_snore_

Was that five minutes? I can't tell... I can't tell anything in here. It's kind of like being in a bowl of soup... Or something.

Guys, I'm... I'm really getting scared now... Something's gotta make sense soon, or I'm going to go nuts. Unless I'm already there.

Can you hear me?

What's that line? _This is Lawrence, Kansas... Can anybody hear me? Anybody at all?_

"Peter?"

Ray! You can he--

"Peter, where are you?"

Oh, God, Ray, I'm right here! I'm here, in the closet! Please tell me you can hear me.

"Peter..."

Come on, Tex, that's it. Listen to me. Tell Egon to run the meter again--look for a dimensional shift. If you can get the frequency... I... shit, you guys gotta come get me soon, before I float away again...

Ray, please!

"PETER!!"

Shit, Ray! I'm going to be deaf if you keep that up.

And I'm not much more _than_ ears, anymore. Gotta protect the equipment...

Shit, I'm drifting again. Concentrate, Venkman, concentrate!

"Ray, wake up." No, Egon, don't wake him up yet. I just got through to him! "Raymond!"

"Peter--Egon?" Damnit! Spengs, if I still had feet, I'd kick your ass! "I dreamed..." What? What, pal? Tell me you dreamed about Petey in the closet. "Peter..."

Oh shit, Ray... Don't cry again...

"It was just a dream, Ray." No, I don't think it was, Egon. I think he actually got here, for a second. God, Ray, tell me you know where I am. "We'll find him."

Well, you're not doing squat about it lately, are you? Jesus Christ, guys, I'm right here!

"He was... all alone..." Ray? You _did_ hear me, didn't you? "He was someplace dark, and he was _all alone!_ " Tell him about the meter, Ray. Come on, tell him about the meter. "He was calling me, but it was like I couldn't hear him." YES! "I could only--I could only _feel_ him trying to talk to me... Oh Egon, what are we going to do?"

You're going to get your asses into the lab and find a way to get me out of here!

"We'll keep searching Ray--"

"But I don't think he's even here, anymore." Yes I am. God, I _am,_ Ray. Just figure out where to look!

Please guys, please. No more crying over poor pitiful Peter. No more worrying--just FIND ME!

_Please..._

"What do you mean?" There you go, Spengs. There's that sharp, calculating tone. You know something's going on here. I know you can feel it. Find me!

"In the dream... He wasn't here... He was somewhere else. Somewhere dark... and he couldn't feel anything." Oh, God, Ray, you're so close! Please! "Gosh, Egon what if he's--"

"He's alive, Ray." Maybe not, Spengs, but you damn sure better get me back anyway. "I _know_ he's alive."

Wait a minute--wishful thinking? You? Gosh, Egon, you _are_ just an old softy!

"Egon, what if he isn't?" No, Ray. Come on, don't do this to yourself. Don't fall apart because of me. "He's... I don't know what I'd do if he was gone, Egon. He's..."

"Your best friend." Sentimental, too. Wow, the unplumbed depths of Egon Spengler... Yeah, right! Those depths are completely plumbed... "I know, Ray. I feel the same way."

"Peter's... gosh, Egon, you and Winston and Peter, you're my _family_! What are we going to do without him?"

Um, could we please not bury Uncle Petey before his time?

"Raymond, I know you have more faith than to give up on him so easily. He hasn't been missing more than a day. We _will_ find him."

A day. Only a day? I guess so--seems to me I remember the subjects from college talking about how time ran weird for them... Hell, everything's running weird for me today. I think I'm actually starting to feel something, though. Maybe that's a good sign. Maybe the portal's cyclical. Maybe--

Oh, Jesus _Christ_! Okay, not feeling was a good thing! Shit, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts--

"Egon!" Ray! Stop it, buddy! Make it stop hurting! "Egon, the meter!"

Forget the meter! I'm dying here! I swear to God I'm actually dying!

"Ray! That strange reading from this morning..."

"Oh my gosh--PETER!"

Ray? Egon? Egon! I can't hear you anymore! Egon, please, don't leave me here! Say something...

Say anything...

Just make it stop hurting...

...

...

...

"Peter?"

Go away. Ten more minutes, okay?

"Peter, can you hear me?"

Like I'm _deaf_ all of a sudden? Wait a minute... I _was_ deaf... Egon, I couldn't hear you--you went away!

"Peter, if you can hear me, we're going to try to open the portal."

Portal?

"You really think this is it?"

Winston? Come on guys, what's--oh shit. The closet...

Closets are bad. I'm thinking wardrobes from now on.

Except that bad things come out of those, too, don't they?

"I hope so. We've exhausted all the other possibilities..."

"This is it, Winston." You tell him, Ray. "It has to be. He never left the bunkroom."

And I may never get to leave it again. Peter Venkman, closet spook.

"I swear, I... I _saw_ him... Just for a second." You _saw_ me? Ray, that's great!

I think.

"The portal flashed in for just a few seconds about an hour ago." A few seconds? God Ray, that felt like forever! "Egon was able to get readings on it. We're hoping to reopen it... We'll be able to get him back."

Cool. Please do that.

"I sure hope you're right, Ray." He's right, Zed. Trust me, he's right. "The police haven't come up with anything, and..."

The police? Boy, I bet _they_ were helpful. _Excuse me, officer? Yeah, my friend kind of got sucked into a closet... Any way you could help with that?_ That must have been great, Zed. Sorry I missed it.

Um... You guys can hear me now, right?

Right?

"They won't find anything, Winston." Hey! Don't sound so sure of yourself, Spengler. Never know when you might be wrong.

It could happen!

"There's nothing to find."

Yeah, I know, Spengs. Sorry to go all to pieces on you over here.

"Peter, we're going to try to open the portal, now."

"I still don't get why you think he can hear you." Because I'm _talking,_ Winston. Usually, when people talk, other people hear them. I mean, _I_ can't hear me, but...

"He may not be able to, Winston." Ooops. Talking to Egon. I gotta keep the players straight here. Straight, get it? I'm a laugh a minute! "But this portal has... extremely unusual properties." Like it can steal away my body... and my eyes... Get me out, Egon... I just want to go home. "I want..." What do _you_ want, big guy? You want me to finally do the laundry? I will--I promise. All day blitz on dirty socks. Just... "He needs to know we're coming for him."

I know. I know you're coming.

I just don't know what you'll find when you get here.

"Okay, man. I hope you're right." Me, too, Zed. Me, too.

Ah, the sound of proton packs in the morning. It _is_ morning, right? If it's morning again, I'm going to sleep in, and none of you guys better try to--

Shit, not again! Shit, shit, shit! Egon, stop it! Stop it!

"It's opening!"

I don't care, Ray! It's opening through my navel! This brings a whole new twist to the term crossrip!

"I can see him! Guys! I can see him!"

Then "get me the hell out of here!"

Hey! "I can talk!"

"Peter!"

But apparently, standing is a problem. Ray... Did I ever tell you you're the best damn pillow a guy could have?

"Peter?" Yeah, Egon? "Peter, can you hear me?" Sure. You can't hear me? "Peter?"

"His pulse is okay." Good, Zed. Wouldn't want to be too stressed out, huh? "Damn! He looks like he hasn't eaten in a week!"

"The... The temporal constant in the other dimension may have been... different from our own."

Yeah, that whole place was definitely different... God, everything hurts. Everything I have left, anyway... I... can't seem to figure out how much that is. What have I got, Egon?

Egon?

Egon, why can't you hear me?

"Peter, please... open your eyes."

Oh. Maybe that's why you can't hear me.

Man, Egon! You look like shit! What'd you do, sleep in your clothes?

"Peter?"

What!?

"Peter, can you say something, please?"

I am saying something, Egon... I'd tell you that the room is melting, but you wouldn't hear me, anyway...

I'll just....

...

...

...

"Come on, Ray, relax. The doc said he'll be okay."

"But he's not waking up, Winston."

Who's not waking up? Egon? Is Egon hurt?

"He's been through a dimensional portal--twice in one day, Ray." No, Egon's okay.

So... Am _I_ hurt?

I wish I could see them.

Wait... Didn't I just see Egon a few minutes ago? What did I do? I... Oh yeah. The eyes.

"Peter?"

Egon, you _still_ look "like shit."

"Is that how I look, or how you feel, Peter?"

"Don't" be all wise"cracky" with me, "Spengler."

"Egon... He's still not making any sense."

I'm making perfect sense, Ray. "You're just not listening."

"We're listening, Peter."

"Yeah, Pete, talk away."

Don't feel like it.

"Peter, please." I would smack you for bothering me, Spengs, if I had any--

Hey! I have arms now? When did that happen?

And I can see... And they can "hear me?"

"Yes, Peter." Getting all patient with me, Egon? There's a word for people like you. "We can hear you. You're home."

You can hear me, huh? "You're pedantic."

Well, at least Zed's laughing. Ray's crying-- _again._ I remember... I remember...

"Couldn't see you crying, Ray."

Great, now he's crying harder! Why'd he do that?

"Peter, what happened?"

Oh, Spengs, that...? That's like a four hour miniseries, at least. I'm tired guys...

"Gonna sleep in."

You are an old softy, Spengs. And a mother hen to boot, putting your hand on my forehead like that. Still, you're smiling now, so I guess I'll forgive you. Could you "get Ray" to "smile" too? I'm sick of hearing him cry.

"Oh, Peter." See, that's better. Zed's smiling, Egon's smiling. Ray's smiling.

Am I smiling?

"Go to sleep, Peter." Darn tootin' I will. "We'll be here when you wake up."

But that's not the important part, 'gon. The best part is

" _I_ 'll be here when I wake up."  


* * *  
The End


End file.
